The river Kalmius: description, general information, history and legends

A lot of different rivers exist in the world. Many of them are shrouded in interesting stories and legends. Of particular interest is the river Kalmius. In addition to the unusual name, its characteristics are also very interesting. It flows in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. In the article we will talk about where the river is located, its various properties, economic use and many other things will be considered.

The Kalmius River: description and general information

For a start, it's worthwhile to talk in more detail about where Kalmius is. It proceeds, as already mentioned, in the eastern part of Ukraine, in the Donetsk region. It is a fairly large river, located mainly on the plains. It covers several areas of the region and at the end it flows into the Azov Sea.

It is also worth noting its dimensions. The length of the river Kalmius is about 209 kilometers. In general, this river is not too deep. The average distance to the bottom is about 2 meters, but there are also deeper places. In the cold season, the river is usually covered with ice. Most often this happens in December. The ice opens in March, when the average daily temperature rises significantly. So, we have disassembled general information about this pond. Thus, it becomes clear that this is indeed a large water artery that passes through several settlements and plays an important role in their economic life.

Accomplishment of the river in Donetsk

Now it is worth to tell about what the river Kalmius looks like in the city. Its upper reaches are in a forest-park zone. Here on its banks grow old, mighty trees. To improve the area adjacent to the river, a large park of culture was laid out here. It was built in the 50s of the XX century. Around the same time, the authorities decided to establish a reservoir here. In the sixties it had already begun to function. On its shores, organized a wonderful recreational area, where you could go boating or visit the local beach. Also there are various sports competitions, for example, you can often see sailing tourism competitions here.

The reservoir has quite large dimensions, to the center of the city its width reaches almost 400 meters. Here, wonderful quays are organized, where the inhabitants of the city often like to stroll.

How is the river used for economic purposes?

Now that we know what Kalmius looks like, we need to talk about how it is used and for what purposes. On the river there are as many as 4 reservoirs. Initially, some of them were created in order to provide drinking water to nearby communities. However, water from reservoirs was used not only for this, but also for generating electricity. Here operates a power plant called Starobeshevskaya. It is located on the same reservoir. Thus, it becomes clear that the Kalmius River plays an important role in the national economy and contributes to the water supply of many localities, and is also an important source of electricity.

Animal world

We need to talk separately about the fauna inhabiting the reservoir. The river Kalmius can not boast of a special variety of fish. In its upper reaches there are only minnows. In the middle reaches you can meet many more different fish, for example, gudgeon, glue, chalk. Sometimes there is carp, pike perch, perch and other fish species. Recently, the species composition of the reservoir has decreased markedly. In the mouth of the river there is also a gudgeon, it is very rare to see a carp.

History of the Kalmius River

Of course, it is worth to learn a little about the history of this reservoir. Its shores were inhabited as far back as time immemorial. The most ancient objects, which were found here by archaeologists, have an age of more than 150 thousand years. This indicates that there were settlements of people. Also here were found burials related to the Stone Age. Their age is 5-6 thousand years.

Here lived a lot of people, but in the XI century Polovtsy came here. And already in the XIII century there was a Tatar-Mongol invasion, it ousted the Polovtsians from these places. For a long time, until about the 16th century, the territories near the river remained not very populated. In the 15th century these lands were annexed to the Crimean Khanate. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the river was actively used as part of a large waterway that led to the Azov Sea. Also from the end of the 15th century, peasants from Russia and Ukraine began to settle here.

What are the legends of the river?

As already mentioned above, there are various interesting stories about this pond. One legend about the river Kalmius says that under it there are underground passages. Such a legend appeared relatively long ago, it turns out, in the 70s of the XX century in Donetsk it was decided to build a metro. Then planned to build 3 branches, one of which could pass under this river. However, the construction did not begin, it was considered dangerous in connection with the possibility of methane. It was in this way that similar legends appeared about the secret tunnel under the river. Also, similar rumors could be contributed by protracted work on laying an underground reservoir in the area.